In more than 40 episodes spanning 75 years, equity and bond fund investors have defied predictions that they would panic and spark crises. Yet banking regulators won’t let go of their “run” scenario. Why?

Romania gets new prime minister

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis designated Sorin Grindeanu as Romania's new prime minister on Friday, accepting the Social-Democrat Party-led coalition's second nomination to lead the government.

His decision eases days of rising political tensions between the PSD and the Romanian head of state, and paves the way for a new government to take power following the December 11 parliamentary elections.

Grindeanu, a 43-year old former communications minister, is currently the president of a county council in western Romania and leader of the local PSD branch. He served as minister for the information society between December 2014 and November 2015, in the PSD government of Victor Ponta, who resigned amid street protests against corruption.

His nomination came after President Iohannis, who emerged from a party currently in opposition, on Tuesday rejected the candidacy of Sevil Shhaideh, who would have been Romania’s first female and first Muslim head of government. Iohannis did not give an explanation, sparking an outcry within the PSD and its junior coalition partner ALDE, a liberal bloc.

Both Grindeanu and Shhaideh are seen largely as stand-ins for the current PSD leader Liviu Dragnea, who cannot claim the prime minister's job for himself because of a law that bans people with a criminal record from being a prime minister. Dragnea received a two-year suspended jail sentence in April for attempting to rig a referendum.

President Iohannis signed on Friday morning the decree to appoint Grindeanu as the new prime minister. The prime minister-designate met Iohannis on Thursday, leaving what the president called "a positive impression," Romanian media reported.

The nomination will be followed by a confidence vote in the Romanian parliament.

The PSD won 46 percent of the vote in the parliamentary elections earlier this month.